It’s Just Too Good To Be True…

It's Just Too Good To Be True…

You met him at the last show. He loved your work, took your card and promised to give you a call later in the week.

You’ve heard that story before, right. How many actually call… close to zero! But this time it was different, the phone rang on Tuesday and not only did he actually do what he said… he placed a big order. The only catch is that the order needs to be shipped immediately to a location 800 miles away. Don’t worry though, you’ll be getting a check through overnight express that will not only cover the cost of the product but the shipping too and even a little bit left over for the extra trouble you have to go through. SWEET!

You’re caught up in the excitement of making as much money as you have during the last four shows… in just one call. And you’re thinking about how you’ll have all the money to buy that new equipment or maybe take a little vacation. What a stroke of luck… Or is it?

I’m not saying this kind of good fortune never happens, but when it does you still have to approach it with caution. The exact scenario I described above did actually happen to an exhibitor many of us know. In fact, his wife approached me with the idea of writing this article. As it turned out for them, this was a scam! Sure the customer was real… and the deal he offered seemed on the surface to be legitimate. But when they finally got over the excitement of deal and started actually investigating a bit more all of a sudden things weren’t adding up. The chances of this being a scam increase exponentially when it involves a check from a foreign account or a secondary shipper who will be handling the arrangements while your customer “relocates.” I did a quick search online to see if other artists or craftsmen were experiencing scams too, and I was shocked at just how many there were!

We always worry about being ripped off by someone promoting an unreliable show. But unfortunately, there are always people out there who are willing to rip you off in plenty of other ways too. And as the big box retailers, banks and other big businesses increase their ability to rid themselves of these threats, the con artists and thieves turn to easier prey… you. Our law enforcement people have their hands full of much bigger concerns than someone trying to take advantage of you for a few hundred or a few thousand dollars so you don’t get exactly top priority when it comes to handling your particular case. As a result, you are left to your own to make sure your hard earned money stays in your pocket rather than in the pocket of some crook! Here are a few things you can do to protect yourself.

1. Make sure to be objective when you get an unusual order. It’s great to be excited and certainly we want to see you be successful. But once the smoke clears and your emotion subsides you’ll want to take an objective view of what you actually have here. Everyone wants fame and fortune, that’s understandable… and of course when it appears that just may have happened emotion takes over and common sense goes right out the window. As I mentioned before… if a buyer is just a little to urgent in his requests, involves foreign bank accounts, third party shippers and other things that don’t add up, be skeptical! If you’ve received emails as part of the correspondence make sure to look at the MIME code to see if the email is coming from where it appears to come from. Is the wording of the correspondence consistent with a person who is capable of making a substantial purchase. I know it sounds like were profiling here, but if it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck and looks like a duck… chances are good that it’s a duck!

2. Don’t ship your work until you’ve confirmed the payment. Just because you’ve received a check or money order doesn’t mean you’ve been paid.. Checks from foreign accounts can take weeks to clear. Money orders can be forged. Official looking paperwork can be faked. Double check with your bank to make certain the money is actually in your account and there is no way you can be charged back by anyone. If any of these financial instruments are found to be fraudulent you’ll be held responsible for the full amount plus any additional fees. With bounced check charges, international fees, recovery fees and more a transaction gone bad can cost you dearly!

3. If someone appears to have been too generous… they may indeed be a bit of a philanthropist but it should certainly raise your suspicions. Once again this may be designed to either win your confidence or to cloud your good sense with the emotion extra money can provide. Whatever you do, don’t ever agree to return the overpayment because if the deal goes south not only will you be out your work, the shipping charges, the sales tax and all the fees associated with a bad check or money order, but you’ll also be out the money you sent them to refund the overpayment. That’s really adding insult to injury!

Trust your gut feelings. When it feels as though something isn’t right… it very well may not be right. That combined with a couple of other clues may help you “see the light.”

4. The case of the vanishing gallery. This happens more regularly than you may think, it applies to both artists and craftsmen and I know more than one person who has been ripped off this way. When the “gallery owner” initially approaches you with his or her request to include your work, naturally you’re flattered. Con artists love to stir emotion to mask good judgement. There are two variations here. The first gallery invites you to be a part of their exhibit and then suddenly there is a fee for this, a charge for that… but don’t worry… there are no commissions! It doesn’t take long to realize that the gallery is making their money from the fees, not the sale of work. In fact, that being the case… what motivation does the gallery have to actually sell your work? They certainly have a motivation to gather a lot of artists and craftsmen to exhibit.

The second gallery looks great. They have a brochure telling you about all the benefits, a web page that is impressive and a prospectus for marketing your work that would be the envy of anyone. You go to look at the gallery and everything looks perfect so you commit to exhibiting some of your best pieces. Everything seems to be going great. You may have even sold a piece or two. It’s been a while since you’ve heard from the gallery so you go down to drop in to say hello and all you find is a locked door and an empty store. One night they just cleared everything out and left town… along with all your work! As they open up in the next town (which you’ll certainly never hear about) it become evident to you how they have such nice work on exhibit… almost all of it stolen from someone just like you. What a deal for the gallery… 100% commission on everything sold!

5. Be cautious if the customer is trying to get you to ship immediately. Typically the scammer will try to get you to ship before any funds have cleared. The obvious reason is that if you knew the funds wouldn’t clear then you would certainly never ship! Many people believe that a postal money order or cashier’s check is virtually the same as cash. It isn’t. In fact, it can take up to a month before you know you’ve just been had. Because of “privacy laws” put in place to protect consumers, banks usually can’t tell you much about a check before it processes through their entire system. Naturally by the time everything goes through all the right channels you owe a ton of fees to the bank. It’s amazing how “privacy laws” work to the financial advantage of the banks and hurt so many consumers they are designed to protect!

6. Go online and do some research. From what I’ve seen a lot of these criminals use the same or similar names wherever they go… and you probably are not the first victim. Do some searches for the names of the principals involved. Look into the names of the gallery. Ask for references if it’s a big purchase. What other work do they own and who have they dealt with? Check out several of the blogs from people who have been ripped off previously. You’ve got a substantial investment in time and money in your work… keep a level head about sales no matter how big and use the judgement that will keep you in business.

7. Take action if you’ve been scammed! Although you may not get top priority from law enforcement agencies, you should definitely report the action. And even though you’re a small concern if you’re vocal enough about it then you should get some attention. The State Attorney General’s Office of Consumer Affairs is not only a source of information but a good place to go regarding any suspicious contacts by email, the mail or the phone. If the US Mail has been involved then talking to your postmaster may be a good option. Online there are plenty of websites listing names of companies and individuals who have committed fraud in the past. There are suspect email addresses, websites and more right there for you to find! If the internet has been involved, then the Federal Trade Commission can become involved too. You can find out more about them by going to their website at www.ftc.gov or the Internet Fraud Complaint Center at www.ic3.gov.

Whether it’s by a gallery, through the mail, over the internet or by an unscrupulous show promoter it’s never fun to be ripped off. It’s tough enough to be in this business and to make ends meet let alone losing money to crooks who pose as business allies. Make sure to be vigilant, remain skeptical and be cautious in all your business dealings. If you’re in doubt, then trust your gut and double check the deal you’re about to enter into. Ask others, go online, check references and do the things that would allow you to make a good decision. We don’t want you to miss a golden opportunity, but we don’t want you to lose your shirt either!

Making A Better Match For Your Work…

I know we’ve all been at shows where we said… “What the heck am I doing here!!!” No matter how well we try, chances are sooner or later we’ll make a mistake and book ourselves into a show where there just plain is a real bad fit! If you’ve participated in a lot of shows and you’ve experienced the thrill of selling like crazy to a crowd that really appreciates your work, then you see the situation immediately and you know the show you’re at is just a bad match. If this is your first show then you may make the mistake of assuming that the work you’re so proud of has no market! Of course that’s probably not true, but if you’ve only done a couple of shows you don’t yet have the perspective to see it that way and chances are you’ll get very discouraged.

I’m bringing this subject up because all too often I run into someone who’s just getting started in the business and they are ready to quit after the first or second show because sales have been extremely slow. I’ll take a look at their work and usually I’ll discover that they are trying to sell crafts at an art show OR more likely I’ll see them with fine art at a country craft show! I don’t mean to say you’ll never make a sale at the wrong type of event and or course these situations are obvious and extreme… but I chose them to demonstrate a point. Matching the RIGHT event to the RIGHT work is one of the biggest challenges we all face when selecting shows.

I’m sure many of you have seen the situation I just described and I’ll bet you’re saying “man, how does he expect to sell anything! It’s so obviously wrong!” But of course three primary factors play an important role here. 1) The exhibitor is very inexperienced and didn’t know how to ask the right questions of the show sponsor. 2) The show sponsor didn’t give a darn and just wanted to sell spaces. And 3) The exhibitor just didn’t know where there was a good match for his work and just needed to make some money this weekend… anything is better than nothing! We’ll handle these problems one at a time.

Situation #1. This one is common to all of us when we start out in the business. Personally we got lucky on the first show we did and so even though a few of the following events were blunders, we knew that good sales were possible and so we endured those that weren’t so good. Especially for beginners, but even for some seasoned professionals… it’s important to remember that the arrangements you are making with the show sponsor is a business agreement and as such you certainly have the right to ask some questions to make sure this is the show for you. Make sure to ask how long the show has been going on. If it’s a first year event then you can bet that participation could be risky and the entry fee ought to reflect that. A high fee on a first year show is only justified under a couple of circumstances… the show sponsor has an impeccable record of successful promotions… the location is proven to draw beyond any shadow of a doubt based on other shows that have taken place there… or the show sponsor shows absolute proof of substantial advertising. When I say “absolute proof” of substantial advertising I don’t mean a promise of advertising, I mean real contracts. And substantial advertising doesn’t mean a two column ad in the local Thrifty Nickel and a couple of Real Estate signs with the words “Craft Show” scrawled across the surface. Ask how many other exhibitors have signed up for the event… you don’t want to be one of five people who show up. What is the advertising plan? What type of work sells best at the event? If you are a fine artist, then you want to be in a show that specifies fine art. If you are a craftsman you want to make sure you’re signing up for a craft show. The two can work together well but usually only when there are distinct sections of the show for each type of work. When customers shop at an event they usually come with a mind-set to view and purchase either fine art or crafts but only under limited circumstances do they come for both types of work at the same show even though we’re talking about the same customer both times! Some events are extremely good at separating and promoting both types of work and of course the combination is a success in those cases! I like to compare it to retail shopping. If you go to Home Depot usually you are in the market for something like lumber or paint or some other home improvement type of merchandise. When you go to the grocery store you are there to buy meat or produce, canned goods or other food. Now that’s not to say you might pick up a piece of candy or a soda at Home Depot… or that if you happened to see a nice set of wrenches at the grocery store they may not make it into your shopping cart. But generally a customer will buy merchandise that he or she sets out to purchase, and they go to the retail location that handles that type of product. The same theory applies to fine art shows vs. craft shows. Presented the right way, “one stop shopping” can work… just make sure the show you’re applying to is one of the successful ones who have figured it out. You don’t want to be in the craft section of a fine art show that was designed simply to provide more revenue for the fine art awards! Are there special exhibit booth requirements or is any kind of display OK? Will there be commercial displays included too? Is this event strictly for artists and craftsmen or will there be other displays and activities as well? Can I drive right up to the place I’ll be exhibiting to unload and tear down (this is especially important if you have heavy items). Can I set up the day before and is there a time limit for tear down. I remember one time we signed up for a show and didn’t realize that the tear down was limited to one hour. If you have a big display of fragile items such as we do, it just doesn’t happen that quickly!

It’s always a good idea to ask for a few names of exhibitors who have participated in the show in previous years so you can talk to them about their feel for the show. If the show sponsor won’t answer your questions, gives “sideways” sort of answers or won’t tell you who’s participated in the past then there’s no question something is being hidden! My feeling is “go the other way fast!” There are plenty of shows to choose from and you don’t need to finance someone else’s folly.

Situation #2. There are some show sponsors who quite frankly don’t give a darn who they rent space to. You might have African American jewelry and be set up next to the Ku Klux Klan booth! Ironically a few of these type of events succeed in spite of themselves. The majority or them fail. If you suspect the show may be like this and the sponsor is all too happy to take your money (which they will be!)… just slow down a little and make sure to do your fact finding. This may be a second string choice if you really need the money, but I wouldn’t pay much of an entry fee, I’d be prepared to leave early if it is too bad and I’d want to reserve the right to relocate my display if I felt my current location was not appropriate.

The best bet is to just avoid these shows and the people who sponsor them. They usually have next to no ethics… and it shows!

Situation #3. Okay, here’s where I get to tout the values of “Where The Shows Are!!!” Now if you’re just reading this because someone else lent their guide to you then now is a good time to turn to the back of the book and fill out the subscription form! Certainly we’d like you to do that… but the reality is that our guide to the events DOES give you a wide choice of shows.

When I first started assembling the information that would eventually become “Where The Shows Are!!!” I did it because we were broke with five kids I needed to apply to most events I participated in last minute. At the time I couldn’t afford to be out the entry fee for more than a few days because it was needed for food, clothing and a place to live. When you don’t have money, the only thing you can have is innovation because it’s free! I needed at least one show every week and when possible we’d participate in two of them. In order to do this last minute you need a lot of information about events because most of the good ones are always full or just don’t take last minute entries. As time went on of course we started selling more and more and the money became available to start booking shows further in advance. Once again the value of having hundreds of shows to pick from right at our fingertips proved to be of great value. After a while the questions isn’t “do I know where there is a show to participate in” it becomes “what is the best show I could choose.”

Track the characteristics of shows where you do well. Because of the unique nature of the work all of us produce, what works well for one person may not work that well for someone else. I know we’ve participated in events where we couldn’t keep the pottery on our display shelves and the guy beside us couldn’t give his work away. The next week we couldn’t give our pottery away and he was sold out the first day! Making the right match with the show we chose explains the difference. When we really stop and analyze the characteristics of shows where we’re successful and then those things that characterize the shows where we fail miserably the consistencies are usually indisputable. Over the years I’ve seen a great many “systems” that attempt to “rate” the shows and provide a sure-fire way you can predict results in advance. Nice work if you can get it… but I have yet to see it really work! BUT, what does work is a careful analysis of those characteristics that produce an outstanding show for you. Think about the physical setting, the income level of the attendee’s, the age of the shoppers, the lifestyle of people in the area, the proximity of major retailers like Wal-Mart or shopping malls, the predominant religious beliefs in the are (Christmas items may not sell well in a Jewish neighborhood). You might also want to consider how well the organization sponsoring the event supports it. Do the members of the organization buy work from the exhibitors? Do they sponsor other activities that detract from sales. Sometimes I’ve seen organizations take the money from exhibitors and then at the event they have booths actually competing for sales. Some show sponsors are under the misunderstanding that you’ve made a charitable contribution to their organization. In fact I’ve even heard them say that from time to time. The nature of the financial supporters also tell you something about the kind of shopper you’re likely to encounter. An event financially supported by someone like State Farm Insurance, Southwest Airlines, Bank of America, the local Tourist Development Association and so forth is more likely to attract a higher end customer than an event sponsored by the local “buy here-pay here” car lot or the “hold-a-check” corner store! As you do shows and find successes and failures, make sure to write down your observations immediately after the show. Don’t wait until a day or two has passed because your observations usually begin to fade with time. Good shows tend to get better as time progresses and the bad shows tend to seem worse! You need the most accurate information possible to produce the best possible data you’ll use for future decisions.

Your best friend in finding a good match for your work is the ability to ask questions along with your skills of observation. Try to be objective in your choice of the shows you apply for. Make a check list and make sure the shows you’re considering meet the criteria you’ve set for a successful event. Don’t be afraid or hesitant to ask questions of the show sponsor because your future and potential profitability in this business may very we rely on it! Chances are that you’ll only rarely make the “perfect match” with the “perfect event.” BUT… the more shows you know about and the more questions you ask, the closer you can get! The closer you get, the more money you’ll make! People will spend thousands of dollars to get the right tools to produce a product. They’ll spend thousands more to buy a truck or trailer to transport that product to a show. That provides only one side of the equation. For less money than the cost of a good dinner on the way home from a show you can have virtually every good show in the area… organized in a way you can use it… and every event is just a phone call away! Remember, no product is worth anything unless you can sell it… and finding the best way to sell it, the best way to display it and the best show to participate in is what we’re all about here at “Where The Shows Are!!!

Don’t Make Your First Sale… Your Last!

Once you’ve made your presentation, sold the piece of work and taken the customer’s money, the sale is over, right? WRONG ! You are right in a way because the first part of the sale is over, but what could be the most profitable part of the relationship has just begun because every customer who buys from you once will probably buy again given the chance.

An old salesman once said that the best place to look for new sales is among those who have already purchased from you before. This does make a lot of sense too because you already know the customer likes your work, thinks it’s well worth the money and given the right opportunity they will buy. This doesn’t mean we don’t ever look for more customers, but it does mean we have a ready stable of proven buyers and it’s simply a matter of regular, effective communication with those people that will turn them into repeat clients.

The next question is, how do I communicate? The first step is to make sure you get the name, address, email address and phone number of the customer. These can be stored either in a program on your computer or even in many applications available right on the web using the internet. If you don’t have a computer, then just keep them in a cardfile… it’s low tech, but it works! How ever you store the names, get them and keep them. The communication can be as simple as a hand written note that you photocopy to an elaborate four color brochure developed by a design firm. Another way to contact customers on a regular basis is by email and internet web sites. Here I’ll offer a word of caution… it used to be that you could just blast off a bunch of email messages to whomever you wanted to. Those were the good old days! But today the internet service providers are a lot more picky about what gets sent. If you find that all of a sudden your email account has been blocked then you can bet that the ISP has got your number. Try not to send out too many emails at once… that means more than about 25 per minute in most cases. You can actually use Microsoft Word to send groups of emails and it has “throttling” features in it that allow you to slow down the sending of the message. Alternately if you’re even a bit more of the techie type you could even set up your own mail server. There are lots of free programs that allow you to do that! Facebook is another way to stay in touch with your customers. It’s simple and easy… you can share everything from pictures to movies to personal greeting or for that matter just about anything else you can put into a computer. The great thing is that most of these tech ideas are either free or close to it!

No matter how you contact your potential buyers, the important thing is to keep telling them where you’re going to be selling, new products you have and all the reasons the should be buying. Remember that the more reasons you give a customer to buy, the more they’ll purchase from you. Don’t assume they know you have special Christmas items, don’t take for granted they know you take special orders, make sure your customers realize you change the items you carry or the work you produce on a regular basis. If you’ve started a new line or found a new application for something you already produce let the world know !

Even if you’ve already told all you customers about all these things, tell them again. Most people forget virtually all you’ve said to them as soon as they leave your booth. Major retailers know all this and use it all the time. After all, who doesn’t know that Wal-Mart carries school supplies? But I’ll bet every one of you got a flyer from them telling you about all the exciting paper, pens and pencils! Consistent, redundant exposure creates sales. No matter what you said before… say it again in a new way. Most people just aren’t paying attention and it takes several attempts to get through to them.

All this effort translates into one important thing… more sales! And that of course is the ultimate goal… it’s what puts the gas in your car, the roof over your head and the food in your mouth. The better you can accomplish that then the better off you’ll be! There’s just no good reason to let your first sale to a customer be your last.

It’s Just Too Good To Be True…